TIme with the grunts

As a new 2nd Lt with the 12th Marines at Mt Fuji, I was assigned to an infantry company as an forward observer. I asked my senior Lts in the battery what should I being doing with the grunts. They told me just to stay close to the Captain and he will let you know what he wants. I stayed with the captain for about 5 miles into a hike when he turned to me and asked “Lt where are we “? My answer was “I don’t know I am following you”. After that I always knew where we were……. read more

Battle Plans

In deference to a well-known movie actor re-educating his Recon gang, I must step up and clarify his “Gung Ho” phrase of “Adapt, etc.” We have all heard it numerous times, but the best one I ever heard was from our D.I. Sgt. Richardson. He referred to himself as “the meanest SOB you’ll ever meet, if you f-ck up!” He used a simple phrase/law of his called “The Dinosaur Rule”. If you don’t want to become extinct like the dinosaurs, you WILL adapt or you Will die! Battle plans are good until the first round is fired, then throw it out the window and adapt until you win! read more

GUNNER GILBERT H. BOLTON: A MARINE THROUGH AND THROUGH

“The more you sweat in peace the less you bleed in war,” said Silver Star recipient Gilbert H. Bolton during a recent presentation to students of the School of Infantry-West on Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Bolton was born in Portsmouth, Ohio and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1959. He served as an infantry Marine and officer until he retired in 1991 at the age of 50. During his time in the Marine Corps, Bolton rose through the ranks from private to an infantry weapons officer, also known as a Marine Gunner. A Marine Corps Gunner is a technical expert of all Marine Corps weapons systems, and their employment. read more

Firewatch At NATTC Memphis

The Marine barracks at NATTC Memphis were two story wooden buildings from the WWII era when I went to aviation mechanics school there in 1960. This made it necessary to have a firewatch on duty after lights out for obvious reasons. This duty always fell to the new Privates right out of boot camp, like me. The staff NCO barracks was directly across the street from the MAD headquarters back then. Not only were the barracks dated from the war, but so were the staff NCOs who lived there. These were all old Corps, battle hardened vets who pretty much lived by their own rules. I was unlucky enough to pull the firewatch duty one night for these men. I had learned in Boot camp to keep a low profile in these situations (E-1 vs all ranks above) so my first pass through the barracks before lights out went pretty quiet. When I got to the first deck entryway the Officer of the Day, a young Second Lieutenant, was waiting for me. read more

Master Sgt. Catherine G. Murray, first female Marine to retire from active service, laid to rest

Master Sgt. Catherine G. Murray, the first enlisted female Marine to retire from the Marine Corps, was laid to rest Tuesday in Arlington National Cemetery.

Murray, born in 1917, first served in motor transport during World War II and remained in active service until her retirement in 1962. She said hearing then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 radio broadcast announcing the attack on Pearl Harbor was a pivotal moment in her life. read more

#MARINE OF THE WEEK // SHOT IN NECK, KEEPS FIGHTING:

#MARINE OF THE WEEK // SHOT IN NECK, KEEPS FIGHTING:

Lance Cpl. Cody Goebel
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines
Sangin, Afghanistan, Nov. 22, 2010
Award: Silver Star

While in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Lance Cpl. Goebel was manning a security position in the southern Green Zone of Sangin District when he was struck in the neck by enemy small arms fire. Knocked to the ground and severely wounded at his post, he quickly picked himself up, remounted his machine gun, and engaged the enemy’s firing position with full knowledge that his position was critical to his squad’s defense. For seven minutes, he ignored his life threatening wounds and delivered devastating machine gun fire on the enemy’s position, all while refusing medical attention until he was properly relieved. Finally, but only after a fellow squad member had manned his machine gun, Goebel moved 25 meters under his own power and under heavy fire across the observation post’s roof and down a 20-foot ladder to the casualty collection point. Upon reaching the ground, he collapsed due to the loss of blood and had to be carried to a helicopter landing zone for subsequent medical evacuation. His courage, heroism, and dedication to duty after sustaining a life threatening injury resulted in the successful blocking of an enemy attack and six enemy fighters killed. (U.S. Marines photos by Sgt. Timothy Lenzo) read more